Musings..

This post is going to be all over the place.  Don't say I didn't warn you.

I will see my Michael in approximately 12 hours. YEE HAW!

I have been at work for 6+ hours, but just put makeup on.  It's kind of nice waiting - because then I feel a little refreshed late in the day, nevermind the fact that I have been stretching this same make-up for way longer than one is supposed to stretch make-up. Who makes those rules up, anyway? Beauty magazines?  Because they have NO vested interest in make-up companies doing well, do they?

Sometimes when I'm leaving the office to go to the bathroom, I say "I'll be right back."  Not that my going to the bathroom requires a big fat announcement or anything, but there are very few people here, so I just say it so people know.  Just now, I thought in my head "I'll be back" like in Arnold Terminator tone/voice.  What in the world?  I'm losing it... I'm totally in countdown mode!!

I was just talking to a good old friend who reads the blog, so I'm posting trying to fill the space in between when I really post - like with pictures and everything.  I want to blog more, I actually feel guilty about it!  But I just don't have the time!

I finished the Shamrock 8K in Virginia Beach on Saturday! Yay!  I finished.  I didn't fall down.  So, all goals were met.  I was the slowest in our group, I was slower than last year.  But - I like how Michael put it - "Did you finish before the walkers?" Errr.... I was one of the walkers, pretty much.  "Did you finish before the people with walkers?"  YES!  At last, victory!

Sunday, I met the second installment of the Arkansas cousins - shout out to Amy, Shawn and Daniel!  This family seriously all looks like models!  And they are darling!  We ate brunch at Chef Geoff's (not Jeff's,note) in DC and it was yummicious.

The pain from walking/running that 8K is finally gone.  I feel back to my old self again.  I'm wearing too much grey today.  I kind of feel like a cloud.

Did y'all see the Presidential News Conference last night?  I had to DVR it and watch it at like 2am because I just couldn't get everything done, sleep, and watch it live.  I love these things!!! I know it makes me a dork, but I don't care!! If you are dorky like me, you definitely need to read this article by the Politico.  Very interesting to hear the White House reporters' take on things!

Happy Friday!

Courtney P. had a point about calling Brokaw's toys "babies."  Although it is FAR from my mind right now, one day, in Brokaw's lifetime for sure, I do hope to have a real baby - so I have now decided to start calling Brokaw's toys "buddies."  He's still getting used to the idea.

I feel like this week has been one big fat long day!  When there's one story that dominates the news all week (hello, AIG) it always feels this way.  Plus, I had allergy issues Tuesday/Wednesday so I was just in a fog in general.  I'm better now, Yay!

Thursday, I met an old friend for lunch at Union Station.  Kathy!  Kathy and I went to high school together and reconnected thanks to Facebook.  Isn't Facebook the best for that?  You know the song that says "the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young."  I was totally feeling that yesterday, talking to Kathy.  It was refreshing.  Fun to catch up.  Lots of good laughs remembering skipping school to swim in her pool, being the "cool" nerds and pseudo-dating the same high school boyfriend.  Mems!

I had my first wedding dress fitting yesterday.  Holy Cow - that thing is going to be EXPENSIVE to alter.  Don't get me wrong, I love hearing that it will have to be TAKEN IN but geez!  It was more than I was anticipating, so it kind of sent me into that whole "how am I going to pay for all of this wedding stuff" tailspin right before bedtime... so that was tricky.  But, it will be fine.  Thankfully, we have some time.

Tomorrow, I hit the road for Virginia Beach!  Fun times with Gretchen and company for the Shamrock 8K.  I need to find my ipod and charge it... and my green hoodie.  I'm hitting the road right after work.  Then, Sunday, it's more DC touring fun with my new Arkansas cousins.  Woot woot!

Better go... TGIF e'rybody!

Clean Stuffed Animals & Spilled Milk

Greetings!  It's Monday.  Let's not focus on that.  Mmkay? Thanks.

Willie is back on Morning Joe, woot!  I love this show!  I love me some Willie and News I Can't Use, so I'm glad he's back.  I'm also glad to see Joe rocking the glasses and unkept hair on a Monday... I totally feel that look.

I'm wearing my wedding colors today.  I just realized that.  Moving on...

Can I just tell you how much I'm loving having my own washer and dryer?  I absolutely LOVE it.  I think I'm going to get rid of half of my clothes because I am realizing that when I can do laundry every day, i don't need 40 pairs of pajama pants, etc.  Plus... a special someone is moving in pseudo-soon-ish, and I've got to make room at the Inn! :)

Last night, I washed all of Brokaw's stuffed toys. 

 

Note how nothing has eyes or a nose.  That's my boy!

It was quite a workout for the poor lint filter! 

Bubba was SOOO EXCITED!!  If you tell him, "Brokaw, go get your baby,"  he'll go get one of these guys.

He had been looking for them while they were in the wash.  Yes, I was evil enough to say "Brokaw, go get your baby," knowing full well that there weren't any where he could get to them.  He'd run around the apartment, then report back, empty handed and confused. HAHA

 

I bet he's having fun at home right now with all of his clean little buddies!

 

One more thing before I go... you know how I like to solicit advice on the blog, right?

Well... does anyone know how to pour milk out of one of these funny jugs and not spill any?

Because I'm just starting to be able to do it... and the jug is about 1/3 empty.  When it's full, I spill it all over the place!

It's WAY cheaper, though!!  Costco has this milk for like $2.15!!!!  You can't beat that!

I remember buying milk at Harris Teeter for almost 4 bucks! 

Weekend Recap

I didn't sleep nearly as much as I would have liked this weekend.  I was, however, ultra productive, and for that, I'm grateful.

I talked with Ann via Skype for a few HOURS.  It was splendid.  I so miss her and that "face-to-face" was refreshing, and needed!

I scratched some major things off my Wedding To Do list!!  I found shoes, and I ordered a veil.  And I found a place to get my dress altered, yeah!  

Saturday I stimulated the economy :)  Sunday, I paid bills and wished I hadn't stimulated the economy so much!  Ha.

I saw Press Secretary Robert Gibbs at Target.  That was pretty cool.  And I heard an interview with Dana Perino on the radio this morning on the way to church.  Awww, miss her!  

Check out the results of my wedding craft night:

Have y'all ever made candy melts?

It's so easy!!

I turned these little puppies...

Into these!!

I'm brainstorming favor ideas.  I think these will be fun!

And... they are yummy, too!

I'm going to practice more so they will be prettier and less air-bubbly.

And check out my chair decorations!  The chairs in the restaurant where we are having the reception are like my dining room table chairs, so I experimented with this, too.

It was actually fun to get back in touch with my crafty side.

And reconnect with an old pal... the hot glue gun!

I don't know when it was or why, but I seemed to remember exactly how to use this baby.

Like I said, it was fun.  Felt good to get something that was an idea in my head... out... and into something that actually exists.

I wish I had more time to be creative.  I do enjoy it as an outlet.  It's a nice exhale.  

Deep breath!! Another week starts NOW.  Then... next weekend, it's time for the Shamrock 8K down in Virginia Beach - I'm SO looking forward to hanging out with super fun friends and getting away!!  I'm not really looking forward to the race, but I'll load up my ipod with some good music and I'll do the best I can.

THEN...... A week from Wednesday, I get to see MY MAN in person!!! My Michael is coming to DC for a whole week!!!!!  Oh, I can't wait to be in his arms, I can't even tell you how much I love him and how much I miss him.  I mean, seriously, Saturday nights with candy pellets and a glue gun are fun and all.... but the truth is, I can't wait until all of this planning and stuff is over, and we are MARRIED and we're just together, all the time.  

I mean, who wouldn't want more of THIS, right?

I woke up asleep.

This week has been a total wash in the sleep department.  Last "night" was the first night I slept without waking up almost every hour before waking up for good an hour or so before I actually had to be up.  Does that even make sense?  I think the schedule shift plus daylight saving time kicked my butt!

You know it's bad when you wake up... asleep.  I fell all the way back asleep after talking to Michael on the phone last night.  I fell asleep in the shower. *You know it's not good when you do the shower sit... you know waht I'm talking about?  It's like the little bit of energy I did have... was going down the drain with the water.  I wanted so badly to crawl back in the bed after I took a shower.  But I had to come to work, so obviously, I didn't get back in the bed.  I did almost cry as I was making it!  I made fresh coffee (after drinking what was already heated up from the day before) just for my drive.

Now, I'm at work... and I think I've had what amounts to a pot of coffee.. and I am having to WORK at keeping my eyes open!  I hope I can sleep this weekend!  But I have so much to do!!  I hate waking up tired.  And feeling like I'm in a fog.  I want to sleep GOOD so BAD.

Attention Future Journalists: Minior in Economics!

When I was in college, falling in love with journalism, I *knew* I'd have to also love politics.  Looking back, surprisingly, it wasn't something that came naturally!  That's right, I actually had to force the political news down.  It overwhelmed me.  It didn't really interest me because I figured all politicians were just scum.

The more I read and watched about politics... it really grew on me!  Now, I'm a bona fide political junkie!  That's why it's so much fun for me to work in Washington - because even when I wasn't working in Washington, I was still following these cats closely.  And when I worked in local news, I loved the local politics and state politics, too.  Well, more so in Virginia.  I didn't really live in Pennsylvania long enough to connect with the State Legislature there.

Now.... with all of the issues with the economy going on... I feel myself falling again!  Yes, that's right.  I am really getting into the economy.  I wish I would have minored in Economics or something, though, because I've had to learn so much of the basics on the job!  I realized yesterday that the whole Bear Stearns thing was A YEAR AGO!  No wonder I'm down with the day-to-day Wall Street numbers, weekly unemployment figures and the latest consumer confidence polls!  I've been on my little economic learning curve for an entire year! Wow.

 

I do wish someone would have told be back in like 1998 that the world was going to be in economic crisis in 10 years so I could have majored in economics and I could have been more prepared!  So, journalism majors - since these things apparently go in cycles - trust me - at least minor in economics.  While you're at it, go ahead and take a class or two in statistics, too.  They are kicking my butt right now!

 

Trying to jump back in...

Hello faithful blog readers.. thank you so much for your continued patience.  I am so behind!  Life is seriously CRAZY right now!  I know I keep saying that, but I mean it.  It is.  I am either at work, WORKING, or I'm at home SLEEPING.  There is not much in between.  Except driving, and well, I can't blog while driving, I just can't.  I know I used to read the Roanoke Times in the car on my way to work back in the day.. and I have been known to scroll through the New York Times on the blackberry now at stoplights, but blogging?  Eh.  Sorry, just not going to happen in the car.

There have been many things I have wanted to blog about... I've even made lists, just none of them have actually made it on here.  Paul Harvey died.  SADNESS!  I way respected him.

I am completely OVER hearing about the following:  The economy and all of the terrible adjectives that modify it.  The Bachelor.  Bernie Madoff.  Chris Brown. (the singer, not my brother!)

PLEASE PRAY FOR THE GOOD CHRIS BROWN!!

My baby brother is still in Iraq, people!  I think about him and pray for him each day and I really miss hearing from him.

He is the good Chris Brown.  And he could use some encouragement, so lift him up, will ya?

Thanks.

Speaking of FAMILY... last weekend I had the chance to play tour guide to some of my new people!  I'm about to inherit a slew of beautiful cousins!

We had so much fun touring all around DC together.

That's Andrew, Sara, yours truly, Jodi, Mary and Amy.  Love y'all!!

We spent Sunday at Arlington National Cemetery.  I hadn't been there before, and I definitely want to go back!  There's so much to take in... it could definitely be a day trip!

We watched the changing of the guard at the Tomb of the Unknowns.  Pretty powerful stuff.

And we saw JFK's grave and the Eternal Flame.  This was so rushed, I need to go back to adequately process!

We were on the perfect perch to watch Marine One come in.  President Obama was on his way back to the White House from Camp David.

We waited and waited... and he was late.  There's a shocker.  Here's one of the helicopters, though!

Never gets old to me, NEVER.

I don't really have much else to report... you saw that I got a wedding dress, right?  I can't put up pictures of that, obviously, because I'm going old school-keeping-it-secret from the fiance style.. But I will tell you that I did not end up getting what I at one time thought was "the dress," so maybe I'll put a picture of that up?  Hmmm... even though it's not THE DRESS after all, it's still fun to think about myself in a wedding dress... so, here you go, some other dress shopping pics...  NONE OF THESE ARE IT, haha~~

That was the dress that was ALMOST IT!  But, I just couldn't pay that much for a dress.  Just couldn't bring myself to drop $750 on it.  Thought, for sure, I'd end up regretting it when I look back one day when we need money, and wish I hadn't spent it on this dress.  The one I did buy, though, is BEAUTIFUL!  And, I found it on Craigslist!!! I got it for just $300.  Yes, I'm bragging, because I'm proud of myself!  Now, I need to get a veil.  Well, and I need to get my dress altered.  I'm going to get the ball rolling on that soon.  Does anyone know if I have a "DIamond White" dress, can I just get a regular white veil?  I don't know these things...

Let's see... what else have I been meaning to blog...

Oh yes.  I saw these and had to buy them for Brokaw.

Making him even more the dog version of me.  Because you know I LIVE off of 100 calorie packs, hahaha!!!

Okay... that's enough to consider myself back into blogging for now, right?  Good, because I have to hop in the shower and head to work like NOW.  Peace out!

I realize I haven't blogged in like a week... Sorry... I seriously have NO TIME!

My work schedule had a minor change this week, and I've been adjusting to that. 

BIG NEWS THIS WEEK THOUGH - **I BOUGHT A WEDDING DRESS!!**

The big day is actually 6 MONTHS from today, but who's counting, right?  Happy weekend, everyone!